Through an act of political jiu-jitsu, militant secularists have largely succeeded in eliminating Christmas from the public square.
Remember the war on Christmas? Because of COVID and the presidential election, it received little attention this past year, except for the sneers and snickering of left-wing elites who pretend that it’s all a big right-wing hoax or fantasy.
But the sad and lamentable truth is that Christmas is now the holiday which (in secular, public settings at least) no one dare say or mention by name.
Consequently, there are no workplace Christmas parties, only “holiday parties.” Schools have “holiday breaks” and government agencies issue “holiday messages.”
“Holiday trees” have replaced Christmas trees. Store clerks wish customers a “Happy Holiday,” while steering clear of saying “Merry Christmas.”
As Dennis Prager has observed, we don’t do this with any other holiday.
We say “Happy Thanksgiving!”; we say “Happy Halloween!”; we say “Happy New Year!” But with regard to Christmas, we say “Happy Holiday!”
Now, why is that? Because of the deliberate attempt to dereligionize the United States of America.
Militant Secularists. Indeed, several militantly secular, left-wing organizations—including, for instance, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Military Religious Freedom Association, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State—have made it their mission to extirpate from public life any mention of Christmas and any expressions of religious faith.
“The left in America,” Prager explains, “like the left in Europe, wants to create a thoroughly secular society, not only a secular government—which is a desirable goal and which, in any event, has been the case in America—but a secular society.”
Sadly, they have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, as increasing numbers of Americans are afraid to publicly acknowledge Chrismas. This despite the fact most Americans celebrate Christmas and Christmas has been inscribed into law as a national holiday.
“I have watched in my lifetime,” says the 72-year-old Prager, “the demise of Christmas as an essential part of American life, and it began with the dropping of Christmas for the word holiday.
“You’re intellectually dishonest,” he adds, “if you do not acknowledge that that was a deliberate attack on the specialness of Christmas.”
‘Tolerance’ and ‘Inclusiveness’. The anti-religious zealots have cowed Americans into silence by arguing, ludicrously, that it is unfair, if not unconstitutional, to “privilege” Christmas over other religious holidays.
Moreover, they assert (ostensibly with a straight face) that non-Christians who do not celebrate Christmas may be hurt, offended, or “excluded” if Christmas is mentioned while neglecting other religious holidays.
Of course, this is complete nonsense. Saying “Merry Christmas” is obviously a gesture of goodwill; it is not meant to disparage other religious faiths; and there are only two religious holidays of note during what is now euphemistically called the “holiday season”: Christmas and Hanukah.
And please don’t say, “What about Kwanza?” Kwanza is not a religious holiday. It is a faux holiday made up by a left-wing radical in the 1960s to deprecate Christmas while fostering Marxism and black separatism.
In truth, the vast majority of African Americans, like the overwhelming majority of Americans, are Christians who celebrate Christmas. Which, again, is why Christmas is a national holiday.
Hanukah, meanwhile, is religiously much less significant to Jews than Christmas is to Christians; but Jews are just two percent of the U.S. population—and many celebrate Christmas as a secular, national holiday.
In fact, as Prager notes, Jews have written almost all the most popular Christmas songs—including, for instance, “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin.
“Apparently, all these American Jews felt quite included by Christmas,” Prager says.
Moreover, non-Christians who take other faith traditions seriously—Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, et al.—are not offended by the mention of Christmas. As religious believers themselves, they welcome and appreciate this expression of piety and goodwill by people of other faith traditions.
Politics. No, the war on Christmas is a secular creation with a discernible political objective: to extirpate religion generally, and Christianity specifically, from the public square—and thereby eliminate one of the most significant and serious-minded obstacles, religious faith, to the left-wing project of “fundamentally transforming America.”
In short, the war on Christmas is real. We don’t hear much about it anymore because, in truth, the war is just about over.
The militant secularists have won and the American people, both religious and non-religious, have lost. And it is only with the benefit of hindsight decades hence that we will realize just how much we have lost.
Feature photo credit: Author, columnist, and radio talk show host Dennis Prager (screenshot via PragerU).
